William Stones Ltd

The Neepsend area of Sheffield, England has long had a history of manufacturing, usually in specialist steel and tools but during the mid - 19th century the area of the Don Valley upstream from Lady's Bridge became one of the centres in the city for the brewing of ales and beers.

Right by Lady's Bridge were two breweries, on one side of Bridge Street was William Henry Birks "Lady's Bridge Brewery" which was bought by Duncan Gilmore & Co at the turn of the 20th century, closed by Leeds-based Joshua Tetley in the 1950s and demolished. On the other side of the road was the "Exchange Brewery" of Robert and Edward Tennant, moving to this site in 1852 when the Duke of Norfolk put forward plans for a new market hall for the city to be built on the site of the original brewery in Haymarket. Two small breweries were also to be found in the Bridge Street / Millsands area. Moving up the valley was Carter, Milner and Bird's Hope Brewery, Turton, Warburton's Don Brewery, Strout's and Harryman's (Later Strout's) Burton Brewery (on Burton Street) and Shepherd, Green and Hatfield's Neepsend Brewery, on Neepsend Lane at its junction with Rutland Road.

Starting Out

William Stones started brewing at premises in Acorn Street, off Shalesmoor, where the brewery took up all the western side of the street, except for the Shalesmoor corner where the Red Lion was situated. This was in the 1860s after which he formed a partnership with a Mr. Watts, moving about half a mile down the road, taking over the Neepsend Brewery of Shepherd, Green and Hatfield. This became the famed "Cannon Brewery".

A new beer

In the early 1940s Stones produced a new, light coloured bitter beer which went on sale throughout its estate. It was simply called "Stones Bitter".

Take over trail

During the 1950s there was a period of brewery take-overs in Great Britain. Small breweries were taken over by larger ones and medium sized ones merged.

There was much activity in 1954 when Stones bought out near rivals Mappin's Masborough Old Brewery of Rotherham and with the brewery its tied estate of around 100 public houses. Together with Tennant Brothers they bought the Sheffield Free Brewery, closing the brewery and dividing the estate between them. It also bought Ward's of Swinton, well known local beer bottlers (including Guiness) and mineral water manufacturers.

Taken Over itself

The Cannon Brewery and its tied estate of some 310+ pubs and off licences, which stretched throughout South Yorkshire and surrounding counties, was bought by Bass Charrington in 1968. Brewing continued but with the spread of "Stones Bitter" to other pubs which had found their way into the Bass estate it was also brewed at the Tower Brewery in Tadcaster. The Sheffield brewery continued until 1999 when it closed. The name, however, continues, the beer being brewed by Coors Brewers Ltd, the successors to Bass, at their Burton-on-Trent brewery, under license from Interbrew UK.

References

* "The Directory of UK Real Ale Breweries" www.quaffale.org

Further reading

* "A Pub On Every Corner", Douglas Lamb. Hallamshire Press, 1996. ISBN 1874718555